Instagram’s co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, created a news app called Artifact. It’s powered by AI. People thought Artifact would close down. But it might stay open after all. The team planned to shut it down because the market opportunity seemed too small. They announced this in January. They wanted to stop by February 2024. Yet, the app is still working weeks after this date.
Systrom shared that he and Krieger are keeping Artifact alive for now. They are still thinking about how to keep it going. Fans of the app might find this news hopeful. Running the app is easier and cheaper than they thought. Systrom and Krieger are managing it themselves. The app might still close, but they are looking at every option to keep it alive. They might even be considering selling it.
Artifact was a big deal when it launched. It was the first big project by Instagram’s co-founders after they left Instagram. The app uses AI in smart ways. It helps users find news they like from trusted sources. It can summarize news in different styles. It can even change clickbait headlines into clearer ones.
After Artifact announced it might close, more companies started using AI to summarize news. A browser company called Arc added a “pinch to summarize” feature before raising $50 million. Other startups are also using AI for news. For example, Feeeed, Bulletin, and Particle. Particle was made by former Twitter engineers. It just got $4.4 million in funding. This shows more people are interested in AI for news.
Artifact was paid for by its founders. They spent millions on it. They have enough money to keep it going for a bit longer.
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